


I'm not reading your mind

by BurntKloverfield



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dream Sharing, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 20:53:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20627375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurntKloverfield/pseuds/BurntKloverfield
Summary: Rey's got her life together, good job and good friends. That doesn't mean a girl can't dream, right?





	I'm not reading your mind

Rey was an intelligent, self-sufficient adult with a good job and an active social life. She had a quaint apartment that fit her just fine, and company just made it cozy. Her car was in working condition and paid off, but any vehicle older than her was certainly paid off. She had her student loans on a payment plan, and some months she was proud to stick a couple extra dollars onto the payment when she could afford it. She was building up her savings in case of emergencies, and she was healthy enough that she didn't have to use her meager work provided healthcare. At 25, she felt that she was finally in a good place. She worked hard to get here. She did it all on her own. She was proud of herself. 

But she had her fantasy. 

At work, large and in charge CEO Ben Solo ruled the office. When she had first started, he was downright intimidating, but she promised herself that she would not let him walk all over her. What surprised her was that he did not. He was ruthless when making business deals, when he was working with other companies and CEOs, when he put a cocky up and comer in their place. When he interacted with her, he was respectful, clear, concise, and professional. He had even once stated that she was an asset to the company, followed by a raise. 

Her fantasy, though? Silly really, she'd tell herself, especially as she was so self-sufficient. When she had a moment between tasks or when she was working through a large repetitive set of tasks, she would let her fantasy play out. He'd take care of her. He'd pay off her student loans in full. He'd make her lunches and treat her to fancy desserts. She'd have complete financial security with him ensuring she wanted for nothing. She'd be able to splurge a little on plants to start a garden and get a car she'd be able to alter to go faster and take tighter turns and start an artistic hobby. Painting or pottery or even stained glass would fill her brain.

After fantasizing about how she would never have to so carefully craft a very specific budget again in her life, down to the dollar, the fantasy always turned to the strange domesticity of the relationships required to have her financial security. The first time her mind wondered how to achieve that, she realized she wanted him to be her sugar daddy, and she slapped a hand over her mouth to prevent her laughter from carrying through the office. She could not see herself in such a relationship, and she couldn't imagine him that way. So she left that idea at the door and let her fantasy evolve as she processed various reports and analyzed the numbers.

After a cheesy romcom night with Rose and Kaydel, she briefly imagined her needing to get married to keep her green card to stay in the United States. Unfortunately for that fantasy, she was already a United States citizen, although she had been born in England. One particularly good--though short lived--foster home had made sure that she had had all her proper paperwork processed so that she wasn't uprooted and shipped off to the country she had no memory of. She let herself only play with that fantasy on particularly slow days. It wasn't even in the realm of possibility, but it was a dramatic angst filled fantasy. 

The most common fantasy was a purely domestic life, in the middle of things. It didn't have a beginning, and the beauty in it was that there was no end. They lived together with her garden, and he would cook and touch her innocently and softly. The touches surprised her: a graze over her shoulder, a hand at the small of her back, interlaced fingers, a brush against her elbow. How did her fantasies go from being taken care of financially to casual human contact? She didn't fantasize like that about other men. She really shouldn't be fantasizing about that with her boss. It somehow felt more intimate than any other fantasy she could come up with. 

She took comfort in the fact that these were all private fantasies that played through her mind in brief moments of free-time.

She ran into Ben Solo in the break room, rubbing his forehead as he waited for the coffee maker. She passed by him to the fridge for her greek yogurt. 

"Rough day?" she asked, pulling the foil lid off and licking the yogurt from it.

He didn't look up at her and just continued to rub his forehead. "Your thoughts are so loud."

Rey froze. "Excuse me?"

"Your daydreams," he explained. "They're loud. I picked up cooking, and it took me a week before I realized I was cooking for two instead of just me." He looked up suddenly, turned around, and rummaged in the fridge. He turned back with a cute purple lunch bag and held it out to her. "My fridge is filled with leftovers that were meant for you."

"My daydreams?"

"Oh, you were broadcasting so loud I thought you heard mine, too."

"Heard your...daydreams?"

"Oh, nothing explicit or anything," he assured her, unzipping the lunch box she had not taken from him to reveal a glass tupperware of pasta and a plastic bag with chocolate chip cookies. "You have no idea how many times I was this close to ordering you groceries or tracking down your car loan. Lunch is easier to explain."

"My car's actually paid off..."

He looked up with the strangest look in his eyes. If Rey had to put words to it, it's what she imagined a proud parent would look like. He looked back down to the food in his hands and held it out to her again. "Of course it is. Have a cookie. I finally figured out how to make them fluffy."

She hesitantly set her Greek yogurt on the counter and took the bag of cookies. 

"Though, I am curious; you're not at risk of being deported for an expired green card, right?"

She burst into giggles. "No, I'm not. Full fledged citizen."

He sighed and let his shoulders relax. "Good. I was worried I'd have to marry you before I could take you out on a proper date."

"You'd really do that? Was that my daydream or yours?"

"At this point, I've lost track." He gave a genuine smile. "Like I said, your thoughts are loud." He looked down sheepishly. "I actually took a break from work just now because I caught myself looking at houses with yards for your garden instead of responding to a business proposal from Hux down in finance." He pointed to the bag in her hand. "Really, try the cookie. I've made so many batches of cookies because they weren't good enough."

She obeyed his request, opening the ziploc, and taking a bite out of the softest fluffiest sweetest most savory cookie she had ever had the opportunity to taste. 

"I'm glad you like it," he beamed. "and before you ask, I can't hear all your thoughts, like you can't really hear mine? It's...um, if someone is daydreaming, I can see it, kind of like a movie on in the background. I can usually block them out. Yours were always very persistent at sitting right in front of my eyes, rather than my peripheral vision."

She felt her heart flutter. She swallowed and said, "I didn't know I could do that?"

"I always thought you could. You were always exceptionally perceptive with everyone."

Rey smiled at the observation, then thought back over the daydreams she played in. "So, the gentle touching...?"

"That's mine. That's definitely mine." He offered his hand to her. "I'd love to hold your hand."

She set the cookies next to the Greek yogurt and the lunch box, and she put her hand in his, noticing that he really had very large hands. "How about the feet ones? I don't actually like my feet..."

He groaned. "That one's Hux. He just likes feet. It's really distracting in meetings."

Rey laughed again. "I'm sorry about the distractions."

"It's no worries. It's actually a little easier to handle if I can live them out." He swung her hand slightly. "Like this. I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to do this." He nodded to the lunch box. "And the headache I've had all day's actually gone away. I was worried someone else would eat those cookies before you could get to them."

"So, what is this?" Rey asked. "What are we?" She gestured between them with the cookie. 

"Oh, I mean, if you don't want to call it soulmates, I think we could say we share the same superpower?"

Rey took a bite of the cookie to let herself think. She swallowed and smiled. "Let's start with sharing the same superpower, then we can work up to soulmates."

Ben grinned. "We'll work up to soulmates."

**Author's Note:**

> Looking for more? Check out my [profile](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurntKloverfield/profile) or my [Reylo Ficlets.](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/ReyloFiclets)


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